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All posts for the month March, 2007

Because I have more than one color of socks, the laws of chance sometimes result in a pair of socks of different colors. Although I don’t pick them totally at random, there is a point at which two socks exactly alike are just not available. Some would consider that a problem. I have considered that view, and its broader aesthetic implications, and I have found it lacking in merit.

Whether it is socks, dishes, or any other item, what is the value of having two or more of anything look alike? With mass production, we often end up with duplicates of lots of things, but that is a side-effect of producing them more efficiently and cheaply. There is nothing wrong with that, but to turn that side-effect into something desirable for its own sake is not only illogical but opposed to the usual standards of value for an object. Almost anything that is unique, and/or handmade, and of good quality has higher value, even if its usefulness is no different. Among mass-produced items, the fewer duplicates available, the more each will be worth.

To make sameness a positive value is not only contrary to common sense, it can have negative results In housing developments, there are often whole neighborhoods of identical or very similar houses, which may result from efficient building techniques, but when there are "neighborhood associations" that actually force homeowners to paint them all the same color, and prohibit any individualization, the result is a hideously uniform cluster of dwellings, diminishing the quality of life of everyone, except perhaps for those authoritative types who believe we should all dress alike too, and preferably have skin the same color.

When someone tells you that everything should match, think about the implications; question their assumptions and motivations. If cloned possessions appeal to you, go for it. But it’s certainly not the only option.

— ~~~Captain RatIt’s a friendly universe…Let’s make it a peaceful world.~~~~~~~~~~~~My website:Cosmic Cabdrivers’ Guide to the UniverseHTTP://WWW.COSMICRAT.COM360 Blog: http://360.yahoo.com/captainrat23MSN Blog: http://cosmicrat.spaces.live.com/~~~~~~~~~~~~Thought for the day:I’m always looking for a new idea that will be more productive thanits cost. — David Rockefeller

Social biologists have discovered that other social animals, primates in particular, developed morality, just as humans did, which strongly influences their behavior.

They mean real morality, of course, not the phony religious kind. For example, chimps who can’t swim have drowned while trying to save others who fell in the water. Rhesus monkeys will refuse to cause pain (electric shock) to others, even to receive food. Apes will console the loser of a fight, and attempt to reconcile the two afterward.

So, morality is not a human invention. It evolved because, in social animals, behavior that is good for the group, such as mutual assistance and peaceful interaction, benefits the survival of all its members.

Morality came long before religion and philosophy. In fact, the first result of human thought was probably to rationalize deviating from natural morality for some individual advantage Early religion may have been an attempt to restore compliance with group-benefitting moral behavior.

Of course, once that was found to be effective, there was no putting the genie back in the bottle. The power-mad and the perverted soon began elaborating on the myths, delighting in the control it gave them over the minds of others.

The myth that religion created morality, and that it is necessary to preserve it, may be the reason it has survived despite the scrutiny of the human mind that has proved capable of such astounding advances in nearly every other field of endeavor.

Many utility companies and other businesses have online bill-paying systems, and they usually work well. After the first time, the company’s computer has your bank ID. You log on, select the account to use, enter the amount to pay and OK it. Only the last 4 numbers are shown.

However, I recently learned that Cox Cable is using a much more dangerous and problematic system. Two weeks after paying my bill online I received a postal mail claiming my payment was rejected because my account, the same one I’ve used to pay them for 3 years, did not exist.

My account did exist, but Cox sent my bank the wrong number. For this Cox wants me to pay $30 extra.

After pointing out the wrongness of that and having my bank send them the actual amount owed, I received a unapologetic reply from Cox saying that it must have been my fault because I (or my computer) have to re-enter my bank number for every transaction.

This means that every time a customer errs in typing in a number, there is no way to know about it until the bank rejects it, and then the typo costs $30. If there is a computer error at either end, the customer still gets blamed.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, transmitting an entire bank account number every month increases the chances that the number could be captured by a third party if the customer is using an insecure system.

So, if you’re paying Cox, or any company with a similar system, don’t use their website to pay. And, let them know why.

Attention, all you homebuilders out there– whether you’re rollingyour own, or strictly commercial– when you’re thinking of what kindof pipe to use for the plumbing, DO NOT EVEN CONSIDER using copperpipe with soldered joints!Even if you’re sure you’ll never have to repair it personally,because you’re selling it to someone, or because you’re so rich youcan always afford a plumber, someone someday may have to.

Please don’t afflict some future owner with plumbing that is bound tofail, and, when it does, is the most difficult to repair.

Threaded connections…is that too much to ask?

And one more thing: if you insist on running the pipes inside thewalls, put in access panels.

— ~~~Captain RatIt’s a friendly universe…Let’s make it a peaceful world.~~~~~~~~~~~~My website:Cosmic Cabdrivers’ Guide to the UniverseHTTP://WWW.COSMICRAT.COM360 Blog: http://360.yahoo.com/captainrat23MSN Blog: http://cosmicrat.spaces.live.com/~~~~~~~~~~~~Thought for the day:For fools rush in where angels fear to tread. — Alexander Pope